Definition of Mecca

1. Noun. Joint capital (with Riyadh) of Saudi Arabia; located in western Saudi Arabia; as the birthplace of Muhammad it is the holiest city of Islam.

Terms within: Caaba, Kaaba
Group relationships: Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, Hedjaz, Hejaz, Hijaz
Generic synonyms: Capital Of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh

2. Noun. A place that attracts many visitors. "New York is a mecca for young artists"
Generic synonyms: Place, Spot, Topographic Point

Definition of Mecca

1. Proper noun. A city in Saudi Arabia, the holiest place in Islam, location of the sacred Ka'ba, and to which Muslims are required to make a hajj at least once in their lifetime. ¹

2. Noun. (figuratively) Any place considered to be a very important place to visit by people with a particular interest. ¹

3. Noun. (alternative capitalization of Mecca) ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Mecca

1. a place visited by many people [n -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Mecca

mebhydrolin
mebhydroline
mebi-
mebibyte
mebibytes
mebos
meboses
mebrophenhydramine
mebroqualone
mebutamate
mecambridine
mecamylamine
mecamylamine hydrochloride
mecamylamines
mecate
mecca (current term)
meccas
mech
mech.
mecha
mechanic
mechanic's lien
mechanic arts
mechanical
mechanical abrasion
mechanical advantage
mechanical alternation of the heart
mechanical antidote
mechanical device
mechanical digestion

Literary usage of Mecca

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1919)
"They are, in fact, settlers or children of settlers, attracted hither by the love of gain, and as they care nothing for learning, the colleges of mecca have ..."

2. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (1901)
"was eclipsed by the prophetic glories of MEDINA 20 and mecca,211 near the Red Sea, and at the distance from each other of two hundred and seventy miles. ..."

3. A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in by John Pinkerton (1811)
"Of the City of mecca. ... at mecca ; and to avoid and moderate it as much as ... at mecca, the buildings are better here than in any other city in Arabia. ..."

4. The Cambridge Medieval History by John Bagnell Bury, James Pounder Whitney (1913)
"Among the centres of Arabian paganism, none occupied a more distinguished place than mecca (in Arabic Makka, or sometimes Bakka) which, thirteen centuries ..."

5. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (1899)
"mecca is placed almost at an equal distance, a month's journey, ... Even in the time of Gibbon, mecca had not been so inaccessible to Europeans. ..."

6. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General by Thomas Spencer Baynes (1888)
"At all events, long before Mohammed we find mecca established iu the twofold quality of л cqm- mercial centre and a privileged holy place, surrounded by an ..."

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